Israeli Government Approves Plan to Take Over Gaza City

The Israeli government has approved a new plan to executive a full military takeover of Gaza City, continuing the country's invasion into the strip.

The decision was made earlier this morning by the Israeli Security Cabinet, with the government aiming to take control of all areas of Gaza that are still maintained by Hamas. While they did not agree on a plan to take over the entire strip, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned prior to the announcement, they have confirmed that a new offensive will take place.

Israel believes that the remaining hostages are likely being kept in the areas that they do not have a presence in-- one of the largest of which is Gaza City. Currently, Israel maintains control over around 75% of the Gaza Strip, with the remaining Hamas-controlled areas located near the coast.

One of the densest of these regions is the center of Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of refugees from other parts of the enclave are sheltering for the time being. Palestinians that initially lived in the city were forced to move south after Israeli bombings on the city, then back up north after bombings in the south, and so forth. Now, the refugees are clustered in the cities of Khan Younis, Deir-al-Balah, and Gaza City, where the majority of aid distribution centers are located.

However, this new operation may change all of that up. The invasion of Gaza City could allow Israel to rescue any hostages that are still alive, but experts are concerned over the impact it may have on aid delivery. Palestinians are already struggling to find food and water amid a severe humanitarian crisis, and a fresh invasion could worsen the situation even more.

Israel has denied those claims, though, arguing that taking control of the city would increase the efficiency of aid distribution within the region, providing benefits to both Israel and Palestinians.

Now, Israel is already preparing for the offensive, with forces arriving at the border with Gaza within hours. Despite their lack of an agreement on a total invasion, Netanyahu has strongly asserted that their goal is to take over the region completely, with Israel aiming to disarm Hamas, return all hostages, demilitarize the Gaza Strip, establish short-term control over the enclave, and then hand it off to an administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

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